Super Baby Food
by Ruth Yaron
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Book Reviews of Super Baby Food
Book Review: Helpful, but not without flaws
Summary: 3 Stars
Being a new, fairly health conscious mom, I was sketched out by all the sodium as well as ingredients that I couldn't pronounce in a lot of packaged baby foods, but I didn't know where else to begin as far as what to feed my baby. I bought this book on a friend's recommendation and, overall, I have found it to be a good resource. I didn't actually follow the complete diet laid out in the book, but I did find the charts of what foods can be introduced to your baby at what age to be very help WITH some key exceptions: as many of the other reviews state, the author does recommend some allergenic foods at an early age, so I would definitely proceed with caution and run anything you plan on feeding your baby by your pediatrician first. Some other issues with the book: it really could be half the length if the author just stuck to the food recommendations and didn't go off on random tangents (i.e. instructing the reader not to grimace while changing your baby's diaper, so that you don't instill in your baby the belief that his/her private parts are "gross."?? Please.) And the "it really is so easy to make all your own baby food!" attitude does start to feel a bit Stepford Mom-ish. I kind of wish the author would just come out and say, 'yes, it's time-consuming and a big commitment, but it's healthier for your baby, and cost-effective in the end.' Of course, that probably wouldn't sell as many books.
All that said, I did use many of the recommendations in this book and I think that my son (now 18 months) is a very good eater because of it. He eats a variety of really healthy foods, and actually seems uninterested in a lot of not-so-healthy foods, like pizza and chicken nuggets, which I find amazing. So, I do think that this book was helpful.
Book Review: Some good information, but MAJOR issues
Summary: 1 Stars
I have never written a review of a book on amazon, but based on my experience with Super Baby Food I feel compelled to submit a review of this book. While this book has good tips on how to make and prepare your own baby food at home (and I found these to be very helpful), there are several major flaws that parents should be aware of:1) This book is not well-organized and could be written with 1/3 the number of words utilized by this author. It is also chock-full of extraneous information and helpful "tips" on completely unrelated topics.
2) Alarmingly, this author promotes nuts and nut butters and recommends introducing these at 10 months of age. Peanuts are SEVERELY allergenic and can even cause anaphylactic shock, which can lead to throat constriction and even death in children and adults. The information on nut allergies is mentioned in a completely separate allergy chapter of the book and is not discussed in the chapter on nuts and nut butters. Because this book is incredibly dense, it is easy to forget about this reference by the time your baby is 10 months old and it is time, according to the author, to introduce nuts. Early introduction of nuts can reduce the likelihood that a child will outgrow this allergy. Most pediatricians now recommend waiting until 2 years to introduce nuts.
3) This author recommends home-prepared carrots, which I learned from another source contain nitrates and are dangerous for newborns.
4) This author has a superior attitude about her methodology, which is a little annoying. Her only scientific support for her approach is that she has two kids and they seem to have been sick less than other kids.
I would buy this book for the useful tips, but go in with eyes open to the flaws
Book Review: Reading comprehension is key
Summary: 4 Stars
When attempting a book review, reading comprehension is very important. Without picking on individual reviewers, several of the bad reviews pick things out of the book to complain about, obviously without having read it very carefully. That's a shame.
Yes, the nut issue should probably be revisited. However, this is still a subject of debate amongst doctors and scientists, and this book hasn't been revised since 1998. Her recommendations are still quite cautious, if you read them all and read them carefully. Use your common sense.
The author does not recommend home prepared carrots for newborns. A section clearly states they (and other nitrate containing vegetables) be withheld until a certain age. This is in line with current recommendations.
Yes, the book could be condensed and better structured, and that would probably help the impatient people who don't want to read the whole thing carefully. With any book, you do have to do your own fact checking to be sure it meets (constantly changing) current recommendations. I would also like the author to revise and include more information about breastmilk and how extended breastfeeding fits into the toddler diet. I would also like to see typos fixed. More citations would be great.
Yet, this book is still a powerhouse of useful information. I've never seen infant nutrition so thoroughly and practically addressed. The recipes are creative and useful. The book also helps you learn to pump up the nutrition in standard recipes, and gives you practical methods for making and freezing baby food and other foods. Health and santitation information is also extremely useful. This is a must-have in my kitchen.
Book Review: Not so unusual, but scattered.
Summary: 3 Stars
I agree with many of the points of the other middle of the road reviews here. Yes, the author is preachy at times and presents a confusing, reference system throughout the book. Yes, the additional sections, although cute, seem out of place and irrelevant to the book. But, she has many good points.
I am a normal, every day woman, but things like powdered kelp, millet, and brewer's yeast are a regular part of my diet. My mother made all of our own food, had an organic garden as our main staple for fruits and veggies, and I grew up eatng these foods. Now that I am a mother, I feel more than confident doing the same for my son and the ingredients are readily available. I don't live in a metropolis, just a small city in the middle of nowhere with stores that carry these ingredients, which, as the author points out, are typical foods in other parts of the world. Don't knock it just because you haven't yet tried kelp (although if you've ever eaten soup at a Japanese restaurant, you sure have tried kelp!). Give it a go! Incorporating these interesting foods ito your diets eliminate the need for processed vitamins and supplements in your diet, just imagine how much better that is for your child! I was happy to find a cookbook that could offer me ideas as to how to incorporate these nutricious foods into my homemade baby food and found this part of the book to be one of its shining lights, not setbacks.
So, this book is alright. I have since read better and more helpful, especially considering that I am focused on finding a book about feeding my baby healthy, organic foods that, along with breastmilk, will completely meet all of my son's needs. My recommendation, borrow it from the library!
Book Review: A poorly written manifesto, not a cookbook
Summary: 1 Stars
This book was so bad it inspired me to write my first Amazon review. Let me start by saying before this book I had one of Karmel's cook books, which inspired me to go to the market & buy organic veggies to make & freeze my own baby food. I found it very satisfying, & baby seems to be loving her new food. This book goes far beyond those paltry steps, too far for me. (I don't care how healthy brewer's yeast is, if I'm not eating it, neither is my baby.)
But it was the manner of writing that really turned me off of the book. The book jumps topic to topic so that you flip pages and pages before you get to the point, and the author assumes you have absolutely no prior knowledge of the outside world before you start.
For example, I started reading in chapter 24 "Super Porridge Cereals: THE Most Important Part." I expected to see information on how to home prepare cereal. The first page of the chapter ends in a "tip" 7 full lines long with no content. The next page tells you about "natural food stores" as if no one had ever heard of them before. Then there's four paragraphs explaining how to store rice, and that bugs can infest food. Who knew?
Finally, "Making Super Porridge from Brown Rice."
Line one: Boil a cup of water.
Line two: "Money Saver: See energy-saving stove-top cooking tips on page 188."
Line three: "Warning: be sure to read the use, safety, cleaning and maintenance directions for your blender or processor completely before you begin to use."
So, four pages later, here's how it turns out that you make "Super Porridge": grind rice in a blender & cook on the stove in water. That's 12 words, not four pages.